German-American Discourse on Politics and Culture

June 16, 2017

Anti-Americanism as campaign strategy

Coming into the summer, Angela Merkel is way ahead in the polls ahead of this year's national election. Increasingly, however, her rhetoric, and that of her opponent Martin Schulz, is taking a an anti-American turn. To some extent this is understandable. Donald Trump's uncouth behavior both during her visit to Washington and at the recent G7 summit was upsetting to everyone and reminded the world of "the Ugly American." Also, anti-Americanism is a tried and true campaign strategy in Germany. It propelled Gerhard into the chancellery in 2002. Today Merkel seemed to join with Sigmar Gabriel in seeking to appease the Kremlin and criticizing new sanctions against Russia approved by the US senate. The sanctions are a punishment for Russia's hacking of the 2016 presidential election:

Only in the two decades following the end of WWII - beginning with the Marshall Plan and Germany's Economic Miracle through the Kennedy era - did something like a pro-American sentiment prevail in Germany. That ended with the Viet Nam War, and ever since then America has been the favorite whipping boy of both the German Left and Right.

Alexander Grau attributes this reflexive anti-Americanism to the Nietzschean concept of Ressentiment - and sees negative consequences for Germany if this is pushed too hard in the upcoming election.

("As with any Ressentiment the anti-Americanism of the Germans illuminates the abyss of our own state of mind. The USA stands as a symbol for modernity as a whole. But instead of an honest examination and discussion of the very real ambiguities of modernity we tend to deal with it by condemning the bogeyman "America". That is both immature and dangerous. Then the idea that there exists a Europe that by itself could guarantee its own security is just as false as imagining a West without the US. American does not need Europe, but without America Europe would not long remain Europe.")

A President Trump does make it more difficult to be pro-American. But Germans should realize that the majority of Americans disapprove of Trump (over 60% according to the most recent polls). We made a terrible mistake in allowing him to be elected, and are doing everything possible to block his agenda and remove him from office. Presidents come and go, but the 70-year Transatlantic Alliance will always remain.